Machine for feeding and applying screw threaded caps to jars



Aug- 14, l 956 F. J. JOHNSON ET AL MACHINE FCR FEEDINC AND APPLYING SCREW THREADED CAPs To JARS 16 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. l0, 1951 IEIA rl MJ, 1| MOO@ MMM/NM ooooooeowo 0.00000 @YQG IELA--. Y MAAR A LII Il mw C uw m oo@ @C v/ il..

Aug. 1'4, 1956 F. J. JOHNSON ET A1.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLY-ING scREw THREADED CAPs To JARS 16 Sheets-Sheet lI2 Filed Aug. l0, 1951 c #j Ml Joa a WH g HIHI Mild; r 'WMI MNHN.

Aug. 14, 1956 F. J. JOHNSON ET AL MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLYING scREw THREADED CAPs To JARS Filed Aug. l0, 1951 Aug. 14, 1956 F. J. JOHNSON ET'AL MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLYING SCREW THREADED CAPS TO JARS Filed Aug. l0, 1951 16 Sheets-Sheet 4 Allg. 14, l955 F. J. JOHNSON ET AL f 2,758,434

MACHINE FCR FEEDINC AND APPLYINC SCREW THREADED CAPs To JARS Filed Aug. l0, 1951 16 Sheets-Sheet 5 ug- 14, 1956 F. J. JOHNSON Em. 2,758,434

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLYING SCREW THREADED CAPS TO JARS 16 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. l0, 1951 Aug. 14, 1956 F. J. JOHNSON ET AL n 2,758,434

MACHINE RoR RERDING AND ARRLYING scREw THREADRD CAPs To JARS Filed Aug. l0, 1951 16 Sheets-Sheet '7 llg- 14, 1956 F. J. JOHNSON ETAL MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLYING SCREW THREADED CAPs To JARS 16 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Aug. lO, 1951 F. J. MACHINE FO Aug. 14, 1956 JOHNSON ETAL R FEEDING AND APPLY G SCREW THREADED CAPS TO JA 16 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Aug. 1o, 1951 IIII III

` Allg- 14, 1956 if. J. JOHNSON r-:T A1. 2,758,434

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLYING SCREW THREADED CAPS TO JARS Filed Aug. lO, 1951 16 Sheets-Sheet 10 Aug. 14, 1956 4F. J. JOHNsoN ET AL 2,758,434

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLYING SCREW THREADED CAPS TO JARS Filed Aug. l0, 1951 16 Sheets-Sheet 1l Ug- 14, 1956 F. J. JoHNsoN ET'AL 2,758,434

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLYING scREw THREADED CAPs To JARS Filed Aug. l0, 1951 16 Sheets-Sheet 12 Aug.- 1'4, 1955 F. J. JOHNSON ET AL f 2,758,434

MACHINE FOR FEEDINGv AND APPLYING SCREW THREADED CAPS To JARS Filed Aug. 10., 1951 16 Sheets-Sheet 15 Aug. 14, 1956 Filed Aug. lO, 1951 F. J. JOHNSON MACHINE O FE SCREW READ A APP S TO J LYING ARS 16 Sneet's-Sheet l14 Aug- 14, .1956 F. J. JOHNSON rs1-.AL 2,753,434

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLYING SCREW THREADED CAPS TO JARS Filed Aug. l0, 195;

16 Sheets-Sheet 15 Aug. 14, 1956 F. J. JOHNSON ET AL 2,758,434

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLYING scREw THREADED CAPS To JARS Flled Aug l0 1951 16 Sheets-Sheet 16 United States Patent() MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND APPLYING SCREW THREADED CAPS TO JARS Fred J. Johnson, Fred J. Johnson, Jr., and Robert L. Johnson, Needham, Mass., assignors to The Kinex "Company, Incorporated, Needham Heights, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application August '10, 1951, Serial No. 241,236 y19 Claims. (Cl. 53-315) formed with locking lugs, pressed seal type caps, and the like.

Prior art machines employing rotary driving forces for lcapping, jars automatically have been complicated, subject to various adjustment diiiculties, and particularly have failed to provide for high speed capping in a satisfactory manner. In this connection there are two long standing problems which have not been solved and, so far as we are aware, have not been successfully dealt with in earlier patents.

One of these problems relates to the tendency for screw caps to become cross-threaded as a result of the caps being improperly registered with their containers during high speed capping operations, whereby a faulty seal is produced. The second problem is closely related to the first and arises out of the fact that` a great many screw caps commonly used at the present time are composed of plastic materials of a relatively light construction. For high speed capping, rotary driving forces must be employed. if at any point in the actual turning of the cap about its container an excessive rotary driving force is exerted on caps of light construction, these caps have a tendency to become cracked or broken every now and then, which also results in a faulty seal and expensive rehandling. Furtherrnore, in more resistant types of caps the rotary driving force if utilized at a suficiently great intensity to produce desired speed of capping, may operate to scratch, scar, or otherwise damage the outer surfaces of the caps in a manner which is highly objectionable.

The present invention is concerned with the two problems noted above, and aims to devise capping methods For convenience those containers to which and apparatus-by means of which a satisfactory'controlof rotary driving forces for capping purposes may b'e realized with substantial elimination of cross-threading and with breaking and damaging-of'caps being almost entirely eliminated. It is `also an object of the invention to provide a rapid and dependable method of capping jars, as Well as improved vmethods and apparatus for facilitating the handling and feeding of caps to a capping station. Still another object is to devise a metho'dwhich may have application generally in controlling the tightness with Which two threaded bodies are engaged with one another.

` These and other objects and novel features will be more `fully understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: 'f

Fig. l is a plan view, diagrammatically illustrating a typical jar filling machine and conveyor member with ICC 2; which the capping machine of the invention has been associated; j p

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the capping machine shown in Fig. l, as viewed from a point directly in yfront of the jar conveying means;

Fig. 3 is a plan cross-section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view, further illustrating portions of a hopper and cap conveying mechanism With a capping apparatus shown supported in a raised position at one side thereof;

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the capping machine with a rear panel having been removed;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the specific capping apparatus shown with a top cover having been removed from the housing supporting the capping apparatus;

Fig. 6a is a cross-section taken on the line 6a-6a of Fig. 6;

Fig. 7 is a cross-section taken on the line 7 7 of Fig.,6;

Fig. 8 is a cross-section taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a cross-section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9a is a cross-section taken on the line 9a-9a of Fig. 6; j

Fig. 10 is an enlarged elevational view of a part of the capping roll mechanism;

Fig. 11 is a cross-section taken on the line 11--11 of -Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a cross-section taken on the line 12-12 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is a cross-section taken on' Fig. 10;

Fig. 14 is a detailed planview illustrating a guide mechanism for caps;

Fig. 15 is an elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a cross-section taken' on the Fig. 14;

Fig. 16a is a wiring diagram showing the circuit of the magazine switch;

Fig. 17 is a plan view fragmentarily indicating roll members used in guiding. the caps, and illustrating one typical cap turning operation; l

Fig. 18 is a View similar to Fig. 17 illustrating an alternate capping position which may be assumed between the roll members;

Fig. 19 is a View similar to Fig. 18 but showing the cap indicated in Fig. 18 in a more advanced and rotated position;

Fig. 20 is a detailed elevational View showing portions of the capping mechanism with jars and caps passing through the capping station;

Fig. 21 is a bottom plan view of a levelling guide member; Fig. 22 is a cross-section taken on the line l22--22 of Fig. 21; l

Fig. 23 is another detailed elevationalview, somewhat enlarged, to illustrate the position assumed by the capping rolls when a' jar and cover member passes' therebetween; p 'y p y Fig. 24 is a bottom plan view of the vcapping rolland driving roll assembly of the invention, showing a cap about to be entered between the capping roll.

Fig. 25 is a view similar to Fig. 24 but illustrating the cap in a more advanced position in which a third impeller roll has been moved out of. drivingrelationship with the the line 13-713 of line' 16-16 0f 26 of Fig. 24; k Fig. 27 is a fragmentary cross-section taken on the line 27-27 of Fig. 26;

Fig. 28 is a fragmentary side elevational View of a part of the cap conveyor mechanism;

Fig. 30 is a cross-section taken on the line 30-30 tering. 128; Y A y n `Fig. 3l is a detailed plan view of the hopper mecha* Figs '312, sa and '34 illustrate a moaned liar lgapping apparatus; l

Fig. 85` is fanflevati'onal view "showing 'arnodication of capping roll mechanism.

` The 1tneclran'isr`n illustrated in lthe above noted gures, constitiitelshne preferred 'embodiment `ot' means devised *toearryoutla novel*method'whhiwehave discovered for screwing together two rthreaded bodies such, Hfor Jexam- 1pk, frsa'scrw *cap and fjar.

`Essentially the rne'tho'd of lthe invention provides for sapplyin'g'to "a threa'ded rn'cmben such as `a screw cap informed Zon ajar, 4a predetermined amount of kinetic energy in the fortn of fa rotary fr i'ctional `driving force, ivt'hrein 1lithe kinetic ,Senergy is so ychosen and controlled that it can be,` andis, substantially absorbed and used ilpiin" urning thecap-into a; desired s't'ateof tightness on its `jar'f vy'rtlzrotltTiveisti'essirlg the cap. `1'1; Ais inherent in this novel method b'ffcpping thafthe rotary 'frictional driving 'forcey vary in intensity inversely vwith the tightening of the bodies as they are moved into fully threaded enilgstgenrentlwith :one another, 'and thus Athe danger ot over-1 stressing `e'itherlone of the rbodies islgreatlyminimized.

y We 'rid that onesatisfactory 'means Aofthus controlling and applying kinetic energy is comprised by a combina- Ttiohfofone1c`r-rnorecappingfrolls assbciatedfwith a special impeller rolltk unit, and the capping apparatus ofthe in- *vetionlis biiiltaroundiths combination of rolls. The manner `in t which this is accomplished will be more "rendilyunderstood 1rfrom the following'descr'iption of the apparatus shown in the drawings.

,LRferrin'gto lFig, l,`ther`e`has been illustrated v:xt 'tlie Vleft-hand -side of this ligure, somewhat diagrammatically, 14i. conventional-jar tilling'machine F'to which jars J are carried'on a conveyor membery A,as indicated by 'the Jarrow. iFrom 'the'fllin'gniachine `l;thefiilledjars are xmoved valong on ma second conveyor member "Ct'o 'the far capping `rna'chin'eof the invention which hasb'een lfshovvninpl'al atrthe right-hndsid'e 'df Fig. `l.

It should be `understood 'that vthe 'conveyorC'is in- "tlededto i be `ill'ustrativeot Va'ny *oneofya'rious means for feeding f alled bottle kor jar "into the capping machina and the conveyorC, or a member equivalent "thereto, lthiighiinrsomeicses not `furrtished as a 'part 'of "the machine ofi the invention, may be rincluded `as one of its component parts.

" Tnfgeerjaneurtimprded-eapprngmaemne is comprised foyasuppor'ting structure "normally restinguponthe neer ofay work-room, or other available surface. l 'capping "iihit'isseured,"asshowm in'FigsZj'li and "5, at onefside Lofr the supporting structure in a suitably raisedposition toiov'erlle laconveyor onwhichfs are coveyedfas has `been conveniently represented, by the conveyor C Vabove ,nte'd. ',Bybdesigning'the'capping apparatuses afcompactiiiideperdentlycomprised unit, and/by attaching this r'1'it`at'the "side vof the supprtingstruCture, the capping machine may be very quickly `brought into operating relationship `to a ,conveyor ,system which has already been installed, and Ais in use,` without necessitating changes or hsubstantialalterations.` i j y t Die organization of the various parts `of the capping machine has been designediwith the above pointf'es'pecially in inind, 1 These parts include, in addition to 'the capping apparatus itself,- a esp hopp-@rimmed `in theu'pper Siae of the supporting structure, `together with a cap'cohveyor guiding caps from the conveyor; a cap'maga'zine adapted rtosuppcrt a 'cap in thekp'ath of travel jofa jar; and, tinally, a cap levelling device"fraintaninga c@ in correctly 4 `registered 'relationship with respect to a jar just prior to and during the operation of screwing the cap 1n place.

Considering the various component parts of the ma chine in greater detail, numeral 10 denotes base members which may be arrangedat the under-.side of the four lower cornersof a machine casing 12. The casing is comprised by a number of removable panel elements relation, as shown in Figs. 7 and 23. The rolls are normally located a distance `apart `slightly less tha'n the diameter of `a cap 'to be applied to-'a jar. lIn `this position Athe rolls are designed to be `forced apart by a cap passed therebetween land will," momentarily, `engage at eitherfside ofthe cap when the flatter is mounted 'over `a jarJ Asupportedon a conveyor'C in lthe manner =sug -gested Vin Figs. -20 A'and 23.

Thecappin'glroll'l22 is ffaston ashaft 24 mounted for rotation about a vertical axis. At its upper and lower ends the shaft 24 1is rotatably received in `bearings `26,

as shown in Fig'. 1'l-. The latter `bearings -26=arecarried at `the top and `bottornof a pivoted itubular support 28. A-spacer element 30l'ocated aroundthe shaft 24 above the bearing 26 maintains a kinetic energy roll 432 at the `top end of the-shaft in a positionsuch thatit may-readily be'removed by-unscr-ewing the nut 34.

' The pivoted tubular support 28 has transverselyfdisposed, through two opposite sides, Vbushings 36 and 38, Fig. l1, which are pivotally-supported onitwopins '404 and 42 tixedin respective bracket portions 44 and 46 forming a part of a `plate 45. The plate and Abrackets are, `in turn, slidably received von rails 48 and 50, being held in place by strips 52 and A54, respectively, as shown in Fig. 6 and also, in part, in Figs. ll, l2 and 13. `ln

lalignment with the rail 50 is fa 'second v4rail 50 and `a corresponding strip 54.

The outer ends offtherails'48, 50 =and"50' lare solidly i secured vvagains'ttlzte Vsidesof ythecasing 12 and are `supported by blocks 56 `and 58 welded, 'or otherwise attached,\tothe` inner wall of the casing. The inner -endsfof the rails 50 and 50 "are spaced apart to deline -a guideway, 4hereinafter' described, and, to maintain these ends, a `separate supportingmember is `provided comprising a T-bar member 92"having its head resting on the 'blocks Fig. 6. The inner ends'ofrails 5t) and50"aresuspended vvfrom hangers "50a and"50b,'more clearly shown in Fig.

i At the `u'pper'sides of the ybracket portions t4-'and 46 is solidly secured aayok'eime'mbert) which isformed with an extension 62 in whichis received'athi'ea'ded cover 64, vFig. l0, 1hoilsing'a spring Vmeir1ber66 which is adjnstable l by lmeans i of 'a set'scre'w' 68 bearing againsta thi-n plate memberiSa. Ai'Aftorn'gue 70 ispivo'tally supported integrally with the tubular 'fme`mber `28 *for engagement `against therbottom of the springiofand isheld against ther spring to slightly compress itt'by means' of 1an. adjustable` stop 7 2. vNormallythe -shaft 24fassumes -afsubstaw tially verticalposition With this arrangement the entire capping roll tunit,` 4includijng-the capping roll 22; pivotedsupport 28; land driving shaft 24, can 'be swung `outiof a' verticalpositio'n against the resistance ,of thespring- 68.as a cap Ais Epa'ssed between'the twogcappingtrolls.'` Thefspring will-timmediately cause the capping rollz22, audits drive-mechanism, to return to a normal vertically disposed position when the cap has passed out of engagementwith the-capping roll.

In a similar manner the roll 20 and shaft 24 are driven by mechanism corresponding to that above described and indicated by the same, but primed, numerals. The yokes 60 and 60 also have mounted thereon adjustment blocks 74 and 74 which are threaded to receive a right and left lead screw 76 extending transversely across the capping apparatus, as shown in Figs. 6, ll and 12. When the screw 76 is rotated the two rolls 20 and 22, together with their associated driving mechanism, may be moved toward and away from one another to any desired extent, thus enabling the rolls to be spaced prop* erly for any given diameter of jar cap.

In accordance with the invention, rotative movement of the shafts 24 and 24', together with the rolls 20 and 22, is carried out in such a manner that passage of a jar cap between the rolls 20 and 22 Will automatically interrupt the driving force which causes the rolls to be rotated. This is accomplished by securing on the shafts 24 and 24, respectively, frictionally driven rolls 80 and 80' which are located just above the capping rolls 20 and 22, as illustrated particularly in Figs. 7 and 23, so that a jar may freely pass thereunder.

The rolls Si) and 80" are simultaneously engaged and driven by a third impeller roll 82 fast on an impeller shaft 84. T he impeller roll is preferably composed of a yieldable material, such as rubber, while the friction rolls 80 and 80' are preferably composed of a hard, unyielding substance, such as steel, or other metal.

In its normal driving relationship the shaft 84 occurs in parallel relationship to the shafts 24 and 24', and it will be noted that the lower end of the shaft terminates, as shown in Fig. 23, Well above the top of the cap on the jar I. Intermediate portions of theshaft 84 are mounted in bearings 36, Figs. 6 and'9, rigidly supported at one end of a slide 88, in' turn carried in a slide support 90 bolted to the underside of the T-bar member 92.

A threaded rod 10d is longitudinally supported through the Ahousing 12 having its inner end threaded to the slide 88 and its outer end provided with a knurled head 101. Turning the screw 100 allows the impeller roll 82 and shaft 84, together with slide 88, to be moved longitudinally toward and away from the capping rolls and 22 in a slot 92a of T-bar 92 and between the ends of the rails 50 and 50', so that suitable adjustment may be made at this point to take care of change in position of the driven rolls 3) and 80' with different cap sizes.

The shaft 84 preferably is belt-driven. Mounted at the upper end of this shaft is a pulley member S5 adapted to be driven by a belt 37 on a second pulley 89, in turn mounted for vertical rotation about a shaft received at the opposite end of the housing 12. The pulley 89 and shaft are driven by a motor 95, as indicated in Fig. 6.

The pulley 89 also drives a belt 83 running to a pulley 93 which operates a gear reducer 96. From this gear reducer power is transmitted through a sprocket 81 and chain 83a to a second sprocket 85a rotatable on a shaft 85b received in a bearing 85e at the inner side of the casing, as shown in Fig. 6. The sprocket 85a is connected through a clutch 113 to the shaft 85b. This drive mechanism operates jar gripping side belts which function to convey a jar through the capping station and to provide lateral support at either side of the jar so that each jar is properly gripped as a cap is screwed into place.

It will be seen that when a different jar size is dealt with the side belts must be adjusted in their spacing, and to do this without changing or interfering with the driving mechanism above described, we provide a pair of gear boxes 104 and 106 which have the shaft 85b re ceived therethrough, in the manner suggested in Fig. 8.

At the upper side of each of these gear boxes are threaded brackets 108 and 110 through which is engaged a right and left lead screw 112 mounted through one side of the casing 12, as also shown in Fig. 8. Turning the lead screw will cause the gear boxes 104, 106

to move toward and away from one another. In any position of adjustment thus arrived at, the shaft b functions to drive pinions 103 and 103 slidably keyed on this shaft. In each of the gear boxes, at the bottoms thereof, are rotatably mounted bevel gears 105 and 105' fast on shafts 107 and 107 having fixed at the lower ends thereof pulley members 109 and 109', better shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

Belt housings consisting of three-sided enclosures 111 i and 111 protect the pulleys and side belts 116 and 116 which are driven by the pulleys and which extend rearwardly to pass around a second set of spaced-apart vertically supported pulleys of which one, namely pulley 118, is shown in Fig. 2, carried in the belt enclosures 111 and 111. The forward ends of these belt enclosures are slidably supported on a rod extending between brackets and 120'. The latter brackets also support at points above the rod a right yand left lead screw 122 which is, in turn, threaded into respective hangers of the belt enclosures as is better shown at the extreme left-hand side of Fig. 6. The opposite ends of the belt enclosures 111 and 111 are supported by bearing housings, as 120:1, Fig. 9.

The belts 116 and 116' normally run with enough tension to exert an appreciable lateral supporting action for gripping a jar and conveying it through the capping station, in the manner ysuggested in Fig. 23. In addition to this supporting action, however, an additional gripping effect is provided by mounting on each of the belt enclosures 111 and 111', rigid backing plates 117 and 117', as has been illustrated in Fig. 7. These plates are arranged on the respective enclosures 111 and 111 at those points where the belts are holding the jars against rotation during the capping operation. If desired, these backing plates 117 and 117 may be resiliently supported from a point in the rear so that they tend to yieldably urge the side belts against the jar as the belts are passing through the capping station. Preferably the belts 116 and 116 are formed of a frictional type material, such as rubber, or a combination of rubber impregnated fabric.

It will be evident that if the rolls 20 and 22 are forced apart by the passage of a jar cap therebetween, in the manner suggested in Figs. 23 and 24, for example, the rolls 50 and 80' will simultaneously be thrown out of driving relationship with respect to the impeller roll 82, as indicated especially in Fig. 25. As soon as this occurs the rolls 20 and 22 will continue to rot-ate for a short time as a result of the kinetic energy which is stored in them and represented by their weight, as well as the Weight of the respective shafts 24 and 24 and also the weight of the two kinetic energy rolls 32 and 32 mounted at the upper ends of these shafts, as described above.

An important feature of the invention resides in selecting the parts above described so that they will produce, at each point of interruption, an amount of kinetic energy which is substantially equivalent to, or approximately the amount required, to tighten the jar cap to a predeterminedv degree of tightness about the jar I, without over-stressing the cap in any way. It will be obvious that by starting' with a kinetic energy mass less than that required to do the job described, and then supplying an additional mass in the form of bodies, such as the kineticenergy rolls 32' and 32, it is possible to'arrive at substantially the correct amount of kinetic energy. We may also, at any time, by substituting for the kinetic rolls 32 and 32', other rolls of a different mass, vary the kinetic energy forces which will be available to thereby adapt the machine to operation `with a very wide range of jars and jar cap sizes.

In thus accomplishing `this objective it will be apparent that we are able to avoid any' danger of breaking or cracking the jar caps, having once determined a kinetic energy value which is suitable for a given type of jar cap construction. Likewise, we may avoid any appreci able damaging or scarring of the caps without, at any tiglatprung` t being able tol maintain a very high camina Operation.

In connection with avoiding trouble in adjusting the side` `belts 1169+116tof .the machine, we have also providedrafriction clutch for protecting the driving mechanism which operates these members. This clutch has been' indicated by the numeral 113 in Figs. 6 and 8, 'being of the, `usual conventional friction type and being mounted between the shaft 85b and the `shaft extension whichjssnpported in the bearing 85e The purpose of friction clutchjis toprevent a sudden overloading of theedriving mechanism from `taking place should `the side ,11..;-1,16` at the'forward pulleys he` accidentally edinsted adistanse apart too smallte allow a iar t0 pass during a capping operation. It has also boenfoundthgt in4 adjusting the, machine for different jar sizes, itis `sornetirr1-es dicult to getjust the right setting at of side belt pulleys. In either case, if a jar `Slightly iammcdbetween the forward set of pulleys, much damage to the driving mechanism can take place. With the friction clutch described the sudden load which may develop `is easily absorbed and damage to the driving mechanism is avoided.

In capping successive `jars following closely upon one anothen it isessential to eicient operation that the im- Pllsrr shaft 84 androll 82 be constantly rotated at rela-` tively `high speeds in order to provide for` repeatedly acf celerating the two capping rolls with each capping operation. Acceleration must takefplacc with the capping rolls starting Practically from a rest position, `for each capping operation. In this connection a problem arises in l that a very considerable torque load is developed in the shaft roll 82, as said roll comes intoy contact with the peripheries. of rolls 80` and 80'.

To avoid difficulty in this connection we have devised a special torque `arrestor mechanism which has. been shownin detail in Figs.L 26 and 271. As indicated therein, the impellerrollbodyBZ is mounted around a cylindrical shell 121 which is rotatably supported about the shaft 84 on bearings 123 and 125. Transversely disposed through the cylindrical shell 121 is a pin 127 which pro. jects radially inwardly, as shown in Fig. 27, so that, when rotated, it may atone point engage against a stop 129 carried on a washer 131.1 One end of a spring 132 is connected` to.;washer 131 and the opposite end of the spring is anchored in a washer 133 which is iixed to the cylindrical sleeve 121. By means of this arrangement the torque force developed in contacting the roll body 82 with rolls 80 and 80 is largely absorbed in rotating the cylindrical shell through a limited arc of rotation against the resistance of the spring 132.

Cap furnishing mechanism Considering nextthe means for delivering caps to the l capping apparatus above described, attention is directed to a cap hopper structure shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 28whereinnumeral135 denotes the cap hopper in which a` mass of loosely disposed caps are contained. It should `be, understood that such caps are intended to be reprehorizontally disposed jar tops fed throughv the capping station onthe conveyor It is. pointed out thatup .to` the-present time it has been somewhat d iicult to mechanically pick,` out those caps which are night side2 upy andi to rejject caps which are up,-`

side down. Extensive and complicated mechanism has heretofore been devised and employed to select caps which are delivered right side up and to route rejected caps back into the hopper inl one Way or another. t

ln accordance with the present invention we have successfully overcome this difficulty and have devised a unique hopper and conveyor unit, together with a cap guiding apparatus cooperating therewith, so that all caps coming from the hopper are utilized, and are always correctly positioned to be fed through a magazine into the capping station. Our improved cap handling mechanism is based on the novel concept of locating successive caps on edge while they are in the hopper and then receiving caps coming from the hopper on edge and guiding them into a position in which they can be turned about a vertical axis, either in one direction or another, and ultimately disposed right side up as they enter a magazine.

For these purposes, therefore, we have devised a hopper which is constructed of two similar sections mounted in an inclinedV position in the casing 12 on blocks 136 solidlyV secured to transverse frame members 137, as noted in Fig. 28. The sections are formed with lower sloping side portions 13S, 138 which are connected to a second set of upper side portions 139, 139 of less sharply angled character, as indicated in Figs. 28 and 29, by means ofshouldered portions 140, 140.

The pitch or angularity of the side portions 13S,` 138' diverges, outwardly and upwardly, as shown in Fig. 3l. The purpose of this is to cause caps which are supported in the hopper between the lower sides to be guided downwardly, and at some points to be tipped over in to a position such that they tend to stand on edge.

On order to further provide for holding the lower caps in an on edge position, the side sections are, at

their bottoms, maintained in spaced-apart relationship,

as better shown in Fig. 29. This may be conveniently accomplished, for` example, by providing a bottom plate 141 on which are secured side walls 142, 143, one of which may, if desired, be laterally adjustable by means 0f a screw 142' in a bracket 143. A bar 144 is secured to the wall 143. Mounted in spaced relation above the bar is a plate 146 which forms a space or guideway for a conveyor chain.

The opening occurring betweenthe wall 142 and the members 144: and 146 comprises a slot in to which caps seek to fall and become supported on edge. An adjustable bottom consisting of an arm 147 pivoted at 148, Fig. 28, functions to support the lower sides of the caps while on edge, and the arm 147 may be adjusted by means of a pivoted lever 148a, Fig. 2, adapted to be pinned in any one of the holes 149 formed in a bracket 150. secured at the head or top of the hopper structure.

At the top of the casing 12, as viewed in Fig. 4, are secured two vertical guideway plates 151 and 152 which are welded or otherwise attached in some convenient manner to the upper ends of the hopper sides 139, 139', thereby defining a cap slot 153.

Caps are fed through this slot by means of a conveyor chain 154 along one side of which is fastened pins 155. The chain 154 passes through the guideway 145, above described, and is supported at its lower end about a sprocket 160, and at its upper end about sprockets 161 and 162, Fig. 28. Straps 160er connected to the hopper sides 138, 138' extend downwardly to support a shaft 160b4 on which the sprocket 160 is rotatably mounted, as suggested at the lower right-hand side of Fig. 4. The sprocket 161 is driven through a friction clutch 163 by a gear reducer 164 belted to a motor 165. This gear reducer is received on a base member 166 mounted on a vertical support 1'67, in turn solidly secured on a frame member 168.

The pins 155V are of sufficient length to extend well above the, caps carried on the conveyor member, as suggested inFig, 28,` and are spaced apart a distance sufficient to, receive, one, or more caps between any two4 ad,- jacent pins. It will be observed that the pins 155 may 

